MLB

Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Alex Sanabia pitched into the eighth after his call-up from the minors, and Florida downed Pittsburgh, 4-2, in the finale of a four-game set at PNC Park.

"He was attacking hitters. All of his pitches were around the plate," Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said of his young pitcher.

Sanabia (2-1) was around the plate all night, striking out five without a walk. He gave up one run on four hits over 7 2/3 frames to pick up the victory. Leo Nunez allowed a ninth-inning homer to Andrew McCutchen but picked up his 28th save. Ronny Paulino was 2-for-4 and Gaby Sanchez hit a three-run home run for the Marlins, who have won three straight.

Paul Maholm (7-12) took the loss, giving up four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and two walks over 5 2/3 frames. The Pirates have dropped three in a row and 10 of 11 overall. Argenis Diaz went 2-for-3 with an RBI in defeat.

"I left fine. I just couldn't put it away. I was trying to make every pitch perfect and get us back in the dugout," said Maholm.

The Marlins did all of their damage in the sixth, beginning with a walk to Emilio Bonifacio. Logan Morrison then singled to center and Sanchez cleared the bases with a home run to straight-away center at PNC Park. After a single and double play grounder, Cody Ross doubled to left and Wes Helms plated the two-out run with a single to left. Maholm ran into more trouble, relinquishing his place on the mound before inning's end.

Florida needed little else behind the quick working Sanabia, who flew into Pittsburgh from Triple-A New Orleans and didn't miss a beat. He got a taste of the big leagues in seven appearances (four starts) earlier in the summer then completely looked the part on Thursday.

The right-hander retired the first seven he faced before allowing a single and a sacrifice bunt in the third. That was the only time the Pirates had a runner reach scoring position until the eighth, but McCutchen grounded out to squander the early chance.

In that eighth frame, Chris Snyder and Diaz clubbed back-to-back doubles, putting Pittsburgh on the scoreboard and ending Sanabia's night.